Ellicottville STR Rules: Town Law, Village Ordinance, and the 375 Cap

Ellicottville has two governments with two separate short-term rental files: the Town of Ellicottville and the Village of Ellicottville. A given parcel may need a Town permit, a Village permit, or both, depending on where the lot actually sits on the tax map - and treating one desk's rules as if they automatically cover the other is the single most common mistake hosts make here.

The Town's rules run under Local Law 1-2025, with a cap of 375 total short-term rental permits Town-wide. The Village runs its own separate ordinance, and Village rules do not travel automatically onto a Town lot, nor does the Town's 375 cap apply as if it were a Village number. These are two distinct stacks of rules, not one blended local law.

This page stays on the permit mechanics: which desk owns which parcel, what the 375 cap actually caps, and where AirROI market data does and does not intersect with the licensing question. It is not legal advice, and it invents no fee, fine, or cap number beyond what the two governments themselves have published. This is not legal advice.

Confirm Town, Village, or Both Before You File

The first step for any Ellicottville host is confirming exactly which government's file applies: Town, Village, or both. Some parcels genuinely require both permits, because they sit within a boundary overlap where each government has its own separate interest in the property.

Bring the tax map and ask directly which desk owns the parcel in 2026, rather than assuming based on the mailing address or a neighbor's situation. Boundary lines between Town and Village jurisdiction do not always match intuitive assumptions about where the village ends and the town begins.

Getting this wrong means filing with the wrong desk, or filing with only one desk when both are actually required. Either mistake costs a wasted trip and, in the worst case, an unpermitted rental operating under the assumption that one filing covered both governments.

Town Local Law 1-2025 Is the Town File

Local Law 1-2025 is the Town of Ellicottville's own short-term rental ordinance, covering permitting, fees, and the Town-wide cap for parcels under Town jurisdiction. It is a Town file, not a Village file, and it should never be cited as if it were the Village's own ordinance.

The annual short-term rental permit under this law carries a fee ranging from $75 to $200, scaled by unit size - a smaller unit generally sits at the lower end of that range, a larger property at the higher end. Confirm the exact fee for your specific unit size directly with the Town rather than assuming either end of the range applies by default.

This permit is not a safety inspection, and failing to obtain it is not automatically a $1,000 fine - both of those are separate, distinct issues from the permit itself, and conflating them with the permitting process creates confusion about what the Town file actually requires and what penalties actually attach to noncompliance.

Village Ordinance Is a Second, Separate Desk

The Village of Ellicottville maintains its own short-term rental ordinance, entirely separate from the Town's Local Law 1-2025. A parcel inside Village jurisdiction is subject to the Village's own rules, fees, and any Village-specific cap or restriction - not the Town's 375 number.

Do not keep Local Law 1-2025 in mind as if it were a Village cap. The Town's cap and the Village's rules are two different numbers governing two different jurisdictions, and applying the Town's figure to a Village lot, or vice versa, misreads the actual license stack.

A host uncertain which government's ordinance applies to their specific parcel should contact the Village Clerk directly to confirm whether the property sits under Village jurisdiction and what that ordinance specifically requires, separate from any Town filing.

375 Is the Town Cap - Not a Village Number

The 375-permit figure is the Town of Ellicottville's cap on total short-term rental permits issued Town-wide under Local Law 1-2025. It is a Town-specific ceiling, not a number that applies to Village-jurisdiction parcels, and not a number to assume still has open slots without confirming directly with the Town.

A host planning a purchase or a new permit application should confirm remaining cap slots with the Town's permitting desk before assuming availability. A cap that is at or near its limit changes the calculus for a new Town-jurisdiction short-term rental in a way that a Village-only cap conversation would not.

Treat the 375 figure as a Town-file fact only. Any conversation about Village availability or Village-specific limits requires a separate confirmation from the Village Clerk's office, since the two governments do not share one combined cap number.

What AirROI Market Data Does Not Tell You About the License Stack

The AirROI extract for Ellicottville shows a typical year near $26,763 across 58 listings, ADR about $388, occupancy around 30.1 percent, and RevPAR near $124, for the vintage period August 2025 through July 2026. That is real, useful market performance data - and it says nothing about which government's permit a given listing is actually operating under.

A low or soft AirROI read is a market-performance signal, not evidence about the license stack. Do not treat a soft occupancy number as if it were somehow connected to permit availability, cap status, or which desk a property should file with - those are two entirely separate questions answered by two entirely separate sources.

A buyer's underwriting file should keep the AirROI performance numbers and the Town-versus-Village permit question as clearly separate line items. Blending them into one narrative risks either overstating a property's licensing certainty based on strong market numbers, or understating a genuinely compliant property's value based on an unrelated soft occupancy read.

What to Confirm Before You Buy or Apply

Before purchasing a property with short-term rental intent, or filing a new permit application, confirm three things directly with the relevant desk: whether the parcel sits under Town jurisdiction, Village jurisdiction, or both; whether the Town's 375-permit cap has remaining slots if Town jurisdiction applies; and the exact permit fee for your specific unit size within the $75-to-$200 range.

None of these three questions can be answered from the AirROI market data alone, and none of them should be assumed based on a neighboring property's situation, since boundary lines and cap status can differ parcel by parcel and change over time as the 375 cap fills.

A buyer or host who confirms all three directly with the Town and, if applicable, the Village, avoids the most common and most costly version of this mistake: assuming one government's rules and cap status apply to a parcel that actually falls under the other, or falls under both.

What the 25-Mile Contact Radius Question Actually Means

Hosts sometimes ask about a contact-person radius requirement tied to Ellicottville's short-term rental rules - a common feature of many small-town STR ordinances requiring a locally reachable contact for emergencies. Do not assume an unverified radius figure from a neighboring market applies here without confirming the specific requirement directly with whichever desk, Town or Village, actually governs the parcel.

This detail matters because it affects who can legally serve as a listing's designated contact - an owner living well outside any confirmed radius may need to designate a local property manager or caretaker to satisfy the requirement, if one exists under the applicable ordinance.

As with the cap and fee questions, confirm this detail directly with the Town or Village permitting desk rather than assuming a figure carried over from a different town's ordinance. Contact-radius rules vary meaningfully between neighboring municipalities even within the same county.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does Ellicottville have one short-term rental ordinance or two?

Two. The Town of Ellicottville regulates under Local Law 1-2025, and the Village of Ellicottville maintains its own separate ordinance. A given parcel may fall under Town jurisdiction, Village jurisdiction, or both, depending on where it sits on the tax map. Confirm which desk, or desks, actually apply to a specific property before assuming either government's rules cover it alone.

What is the 375 cap in Ellicottville's STR rules?

375 is the Town of Ellicottville's cap on the total number of short-term rental permits it will issue Town-wide under Local Law 1-2025. It is a Town-specific number and does not apply to Village-jurisdiction parcels. Confirm remaining cap slots directly with the Town's permitting desk before assuming availability for a new Town-jurisdiction application.

How much does an Ellicottville short-term rental permit cost?

The Town's annual short-term rental permit fee ranges from $75 to $200, scaled by unit size - smaller units generally fall toward the lower end, larger properties toward the higher end. Confirm the exact fee for a specific unit size directly with the Town, since the fee depends on that specific size rather than a flat rate for every listing.

Is the Ellicottville STR permit the same as a safety inspection?

No. The annual short-term rental permit under Local Law 1-2025 is a licensing requirement, not a safety inspection, and it is a separate matter from any potential fine for noncompliance. Confusing the permit itself with an inspection or a penalty misreads what the Town file actually requires versus what separate consequences might attach to not having the permit filed correctly and on time.

Does the Village ordinance follow the same cap as the Town's 375 permits?

No. The Village of Ellicottville's ordinance is entirely separate from the Town's Local Law 1-2025, and the Town's 375-permit cap does not apply to Village-jurisdiction parcels. Village rules and any Village-specific limits are a separate file, confirmed directly with the Village Clerk's office, not inherited from the Town's cap number at all.

What does Ellicottville's AirROI market data show?

A typical year near $26,763 across 58 listings, with ADR about $388, occupancy around 30.1 percent, and RevPAR near $124, for the vintage period August 2025 through July 2026. This is market performance data only - it does not indicate which government's permit a property holds, whether the Town cap has open slots, or any other licensing detail.

Can I assume my property's permit status based on a neighboring property?

No. Town-versus-Village jurisdiction and cap availability can differ parcel by parcel, and boundary lines do not always match intuitive assumptions about where the Village ends and the Town begins. Bring the tax map and confirm directly with the relevant desk rather than assuming a neighboring property's situation applies to your own parcel.

What should I confirm before buying an Ellicottville short-term rental?

Confirm three things directly with the Town and, if applicable, the Village: which jurisdiction the parcel actually falls under, whether the Town's 375-permit cap has remaining slots if Town jurisdiction applies, and the exact permit fee for the specific unit size. None of these can be answered from AirROI market data alone, and all three should be confirmed before finalizing a purchase or filing an application.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Ellicottville runs two separate short-term rental files - a Town ordinance and a Village ordinance - with a 375-permit cap that applies only to the Town. Confusing the two desks is the most common mistake hosts make here.

We help Ellicottville hosts confirm which desk, Town or Village or both, actually governs their parcel before a permit question turns into a wasted trip or an unpermitted rental. Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.

Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.